1933. Germany’s Parliament, the Reichstag effectively gives dictatorial powers to Adolf Hitler. More than a dozen years later, Hitler’s rule ends in the weak of WWII and the holocaust. 1983. President Ronald Reagan proposes developing technology to intercept nuclear missiles, a plan the critics dub Star Wars.

“I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who give us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace, to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons, impotent and obsolete.”

2001. Russia’s orbiting Mir Space Station ends its 15-year odyssey with a fiery plunge into the South Pacific.

And 1998. “My heart will go on and on…”The disaster epic Titantic wins 11 Oscars, tying the record for the most Academy Award wins. The other films that cheer that honor, “Ben-Hur” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”.

Today in History, March 23rd. Sandy Kozel, the Associated Press.